Reviews by CHADMC3:

Pours an amber brown body beneath the rich tan head which dissolves somewhat quickly but leaves a constant ring of lacing floating atop the body and clinging to the glass.

Wow, those are some fresh pungent hops as this was bottled on 9/30/13. Primarily consisting of pine and herbal or floral aromas. Its like the a lumberjack and a florist decided to brew a beer together. Burried in there as well is a nice biscuit or bread like malt which I am assuming has to be a pretty decent helping to off-set this hop monster.

The floral and pine hops just coat the palate through and through and similar to the aroma the biscuit like malt is sitting in the background, yet pleasantly apparent.

This is a tongue buckler all the way with a medium to fuller body and medium carbonation leading up to the robust bitter finish.

This is really a huge beer as the heartier hop profile backed by the generous organic malts packs into this chewy brew. Huge character, well put together and tons to tease the senses. (1,003 characters)

More User Reviews:

Bottled on 10/24/13.An Imperial IPA per label, as well as 9.2%ABV..Pours into an oversized wine glass a dull burnt orange infuse golden with a tightly formed white head atop.Aromas of caramel malts and tropical fruit-like hops,not much bitterness detected.A wave of tropical fruits coats the mouth on every sip of this beer,Iam not sure if I have had a beer with such a tropical element.Mango,peach,and overripe pineapple are dominant over top of a mildy sweet caramel base,the alcohol is there but not in your face.A great DIPA from Black Mountain,Iam gonna visit the brewery here in a few weeks,lookin forward to it. (618 characters)

Pours very hazed, orangey brown with a dense foamy light brown head. The nose is candy seet with a grapefruit rind. Same grapefruit flavor with sweet muddled malt flavors. Thick syrupy body with a sweet finish. Good, but it doesn't compare with the top of the style. (266 characters)

22oz poured into a Pisgah pint glass. Bottle says it was brewed 3/10 and has an ABV of 9.8%. It calls itself a "Triple Pale Ale," but the gentleman at the brewery referred to it as a DIPA. As such I am scoring it as a DIPA.

A: Pours a slighty hazy Amber/Orange. Wears a thin frothy head that lingers, leaves a touch of lace on he sides of the pint.

S: Nose is sweet upfront with aromas of sugars and cities fruit. Maybe a touch of busciut hiding in there, too.

T: Very bitter cold, lightens up some as it warms. Almost paradoxical given the sweetness of the nose. Very nice citrus notes and crisp on the follow through with a somewhat lingering bitterness.

M: Moderate with ample carbonation. Feels nice.

D: A nice drinking TPA/DIPA/ASA (or whatever style this thing is). It might wear on the palate a little, but as long as you sip and don't rush it shouldn't be an issue. (883 characters)

The one, the only, the awesome TimmyP sent this my way!!! Split with my brother-in-law and served in a pint glass.

Pours copper color with a large head.

Tons of hops in the nose. Very sweet and floral. I pick up quite a bit of malt as well... I start to think fresh barleywine here.

Wow... an overbearing amount of hops assault your tongue. Like sucking on a greenhouse with all of the floral/perfume notes. Tons of citrus too... but I'm losing the malt that I smelled upfront. This is extremely hot as well.

It has a sticky mouthfeel and is very full-bodied. I had a rough time finishing my half. I appreciate the chance to try this as anything Pisgah puts out interests me, but I don't know if I'll revisit again. I much preferred the Vortex II. Regardless, thanks for the beer Timmy!! I'm gonna repay that generosity soon! (829 characters)

S: A bit on the subtle side for a big DIPA. Very odd hop bill. I'd guess Columbus and Simcoe but I'd probably be wrong, lol. Very resinous. Malts lend some sweetness but not much else.

T/M: Decent bitterness but not nearly as much as I would have thought. I'm still saying Simcoe. Citrus but without much pine and only a touch of resin with some stronger floral notes toward the end. Malt has beefed up a bit in the taste with more sweetness and some bready notes. Body stays on the medium side and doesn't get syrupy at all. As it warms further, a bit more oily citrus comes through. Finishes on the dry side with a bit of lasting bitterness.

D: Easily drinkable for a DIPA. Very different but tasty nonetheless. (958 characters)

Thank you mikesgroove for this great growler!! I was super excited to get it.

A - Reddish copper color shines through with a off white fluffy one-finger plus head that leaves a good amount of lacing the whole way down.

S - Mix of citrussy hops followed by some piney and grassy hops as well. The malt is also present in the nose.

T/M/D - I loved this beer from beginning to end! A bit of malt, but nothing too much. There are some way too malty sweet DIPAs out there, but this is not in that category - but that's another discussion. The hops are there. There are a lot of hops - citrus, piney, grassy - but IMO it's not too much. The beer stays balanced enough for me to keep want to come back for more, and more, and more. It's smooth going down, if I didn't know the ABV I would have never guessed it was over 10%. This beer is medium bodied and just a great drink through and through. If I could I would drink this all the time, I think though they might catch up with you pretty quickly.

Sampled 9/13/08 from a growler thanks to the very generous mikesgroove. Poured into my DFH snifter after a very satisfying whoosh of carbonation when cracking the growler.

A- A hazy orangish amber allowing little light through. About a finger of tan eggshell colored head. A thick lacing that stuck with the glass through the whole drink. Fantastic

S- Really a lot going on. Some citrus. A lot of Grapefruit for me. Followed by some sticky pine. Then a nice malt background that seemed pretty straight forward.

T- Hops,hops, and hops. Similar to the smell, but not completely. Very nice the malt takes the edge away. Blances good with resinous of the pine characteristics.

M- Medium bodied. A fine light carbonation. Tackiness from the pine, but not over bearing.

D- Perfect. You can't detect the alcohol except for the creeping of the heat into your cheeks. Extremely drinkable for the ABV, and perhaps the most drinkable I have had in the style. Superb. (960 characters)

Label reads "Triple Pale Ale" and is listed at 9.8% ABV. Label art is like a Tolkien-esque/psychedelic take on the traditional nature label designs favored by Saranac and those old Schmidt's cans. I'm assuming it was brewed 11/09, as that's the figure on the label, so, not exactly fresh, though not exactly aged. USDA certified organic.

Pours a gold-tinted off-white head that sits on top of a burnt/rust orange color. Only thin flecks of lace left on the glass.

Hops are immediate and unforgiving at the very beginning of the sip, while an electric caramel brightness offers some backup and balance; alcohol provides a comforting warmth and gives the beer some serious balls (although it's far from overbearing or "hot"). Fantastic hop character here, plenty of rind and oily resins, although again, just a lot of balance and class. Nothing spikes or veers out of whack. As well, the long, lingering grassy bitter/astringent character in the finish holds back just enough from being cloying, and is actually quite delightful if you dig big hops. What's the malt doing here? It's being good and providing a firm foundation but not hogging the stage -- this is definitely about the hops, even if they perform just a bit differently than other beers of this kind.

About as creamy and round as I'd want a beer like this to be, this is texturally quite nice, although not a feel to marvel over the way other huge IPAs/strong American ales can do (like Double Bastard).

Take this one slow; it's too unique to throw back quickly, and the alcohol packs a punch. Certainly one of the absolute best organic beers out there; you cannot tell this is organic: nothing is diminished or lacking, as many organic beers are, unfortunately. This is just full-on flavor, with plenty of depth, and it performs just as a strong American ale or "triple pale ale" should, yet steps off the path a little. Doesn't remind me of anything else out there in this crowded field. I'm officially on the lookout for anything else by this brewery starting...NOW. (2,151 characters)

Pours into my SA tulip a beautiful looking red/orange/amber/glowing/ruby color with a very nice off white/light tan fluffalicious head. Nose is mad grapefruit hops with a good malt presence. Taste most certainly follows with crisp clean (must be the organic) hop flavors. A good malt backbone makes its slightly sweet presence known right in the middle, just before the bitter ride of a great west coastish hop profile rears its head. Mouthfeel is just about right here, maybe a tad bit thick. Drinkability is incredible on this one, hampered only by a just barely to dry dryness on the finish. Shockingly smooth for its TIPA abv. Overall I am very impressed with this brew, and wish I could get my hands on it regularly as I would be drinking the shit out of it on a regular basis. A solid D/TIPA reminds us all how pisgah really belongs at the pinnacle of organic brewing, and up there for brewing in general. Great beer. Thanks again to mike. (987 characters)

Pours very thick head that leaves very thick lace, on grapefruit body. Aroma is hoppy, not crazy hoppy. Chinook, Nugget, very well malted. 130 IBU rated but not feeling that at all, well done. Grapefruit,some tangerine, very tasty. Dangerously drinkable.Bomber gone, 20 minutes. Smooth creamy mouthfeel. Called triple pale, and that's what it is.Thanks for talking me into it, Dr. Jay. From Bruisin' Ales. (405 characters)

Pours a dark amber with a thick head. The head starts off strong, but gradually slows down though it never goes away. You can tell the lacing is going to be killer because as the head pulls away from the sides, the glass is still covered.

I liked the smell from the start. The hops give you that nice citrusy scent. Flowery notes are also present.

The taste is similar to the smell. The citrus is obviously, but theres also a malty sweetness to keep the earthy hop flavors in check.

You could never call a triple pale ale smooth in the mouth, but for the type, this is as smooth as I've had. It's clearly hoppy, but the malts subdue everything

Despite ridiculous alcohol and being a triple IPA, this is pretty easy to drink. I love the citrus flavor and as mentioned a couple times, the malts take all the hoppy bite away and make this go down easy. (853 characters)

Vortex I is bronze or copper in color. It's very clear and has no haze at all. I'm tempted to call this excessively carbonated, but I'll hold that call. This beast of a head is tan in color and easily exceeds four fingers in depth. It dissipates (to a degree) somewhat quickly, but never completely goes away. Thick sheets of lace clung to the glass as it descended.

The nose is good, but not great. It certainly features a strong hop presence. It smells mostly piney and floral. I'm unsure of the hop bill. It's certainly big, whatever it is. A healthy amount of malt is noted. It smells like a mix of pale and maybe some caramel. The label describes this as a "triple pale ale." I'm not exactly sure what that is. Perhaps it is a DIPA. But, it does feature the somewhat balanced approach of an American Pale Ale. It's skewed a little in the hop direction, but not by much. Alcohol is noted, but I wouldn't have guessed it's nearly 10%. Good overall, not great.

The flavor profile is pretty good, but it's somewhat disappointing. It certainly kicks off with a strong, bitter hop flavor. It is indeed aggressively bitter. I'm not so enthralled with the hop flavor though. It's an okay mix, but could be better (the bottles indicates four varieties). There's a good bit of pale malt, and perhaps some caramel, that tries to balance out some of the hop flavor. It remains very bitter. Moreso than I expected. Alcohol is noted on the tail. It still doesn't seem like such a strong beer. I like that aspect of it. All in all, it's not bad stuff. I'm wrestling with how much I like this beer. There's no doubt that it's pretty good. But, I can't help but feel that it's a little disappointing. It just doesn't seem to have enough flavor to reach the next level.

Vortex I has a (barely) medium body. Carbonation is not quite as excessive as I thought. It's nearly smooth, but needs a little more body to get there. Drinkability is above average. I like the flavor alright, but it could be better. It's also strong at 9.8%. A bomber is plenty for me.

Pisgah did an okay job with Vortex I, but it's a little disappointing. I always find a lot of novel style approaches less than completely satisfying. In this case, it's a 'triple pale ale.' I don't know what that is. The biggest problem here is that it doesn't have the amount of hop flavor, nor the girth that it needs to excel. That could be easily rectified with a couple of tweaks. It's not bad and is definitely worth checking out, but it falls pretty far short of Valdez. It's disappointing compared to that. (2,618 characters)

Pours copper with 3 fingers of cream colored head. Hazes as the bottle is drained but to be expected from a bottle conditioned beer I am trying to squeeze every drop from. Tons of lacing & head retention

S: Breadyness, pineyness, floral hops, plus leafy hops as this warms

T: Pineyness, herbal hops, a touch of tangerine, toffee & leafy hops up front. As this warms, I get biscuitty malt & herbal hops melding nicely, plus some orange slices, also some dryness. finishes fruitty with some herbal hops, grapefruit, pineapple & a touch of booze

MF: Creamy, medium body with fantastic balance

Drinks easy, but I am feeling the ABV on this a bit. Not perfect, but damn near. I will be on the look out for this when I go back to NC this summer! (807 characters)

22 oz bottle into an oversized snifter. Pretty foamy pour at first but dumps a hazy amber (that have a sort of burnt orange hue to it) with several billowous fingers of poofy of-white head. Settles into a still somewhat thickish layer of retention, with swirling getting a nice rise, leaving a massive latticwork of sticky looking lacing back. The aroma is a big warmish fume of floral and spicy hops, pine needles, just MASSIVE juicy tropical fruit notes of mangos and pineapples, and an equally huge malty dose of toasted grains.

For the taste, I could pretty much just rewrite the aroma. Starts with sticky (but not overly so) resinous hops that have got a lot of herbal and spicy character going on with it to. The bitterness is intense but doesn't go over the top thanks to it running into a COMPLETE WALL of lush tropical fruit juices and beefy feeling toasted and grainy malts. Spicy bitterness lingers long and proudly, spreading a dry and tingley warmth across the palate. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with an all around more viscous feel to it but it also carries a softer, creamier feel within it, that keeps this from feeling completely oily. The ABV is very eveident, as you can imagine at almost 11%, but I don't feel that it's overly rampant though. It does however mix with the huge hop profile to impart a bitter sting but the residual warmth it gives off does help compliment the big flavors in this.

Massive bomb of an IPA here from the Pisgah boys, that while dripping with lush hop character, doesn't get it's raging ABV quite under control enough to keep the drinkibility of this up. I'd definitely recommend sitting down with a bottle of this, just plan on taking your time with it. (1,711 characters)

Served from tap into a shaker. Poured red-orange with a one finger bone white head that remained throughout. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, earthy hops, and caramel. The flavor was of sweet malt, earthy hops, caramel, dark chocolate, and citrus. It had a medium feel on the palate with medium-high carbonation. Overall this was a pretty good brew. As always from Pisgah you get the big earthy flavors. On this one the earthy flavor tied in very well with the other flavors presents and definitely kept you palate alert at all times. Can't say that there is much missing on this one. A must try for any hop-head out there. (676 characters)